Varone, Ricker lead Seahawks to second at RWU
BRISTOL, R.I. – Seniors Victoria Varone (Providence, R.I.) and Taylor Ricker (Rocky Point, N.Y.) finished inside the top 10 to lead Salve Regina to a second-place finish in the Roger Williams Invitational at Colt State Park on Saturday.
Varone joined the lead pack in the opening mile and battled with the frontrunners throughout, trading spots with Edie Sharon and Sarah Vannah of Wellesley College and Kaneen Gomez-Hixson of St. Joseph (Connecticut) on the loops of the grass and trail 5K course. Varone finished third overall in 19:25.23 for her fastest cross country performance of the last two years.
Ricker turned in a consistent performance, working her way into the top 10 after the opening mile and holding steady the rest of the way. Ricker crossed the finish line at 20:31.38 to place ninth in the field of 126. Her performance was more than a minute faster than her time in the same meet a year ago.
"Victoria and Taylor were brilliant today. Both looked comfortable and confident, and they delivered exactly what we needed at the front of the pack," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "I'm looking to them to continue to set the pace for us this fall."
The other Salve Regina scorers placed inside the top 20 to put the finishing touches on the team tally. Sophomore Alex Demeo (Burlington, Mass.) ran at No. 3, crossing the finish line at 20:44.03. Freshman Cianna Lynch (Cranston, R.I.) and junior Olivia Wilson (Bethel, Conn.) finished at 20:49.72 and 20:55.79 to round out the scoring.
Senior Alannah O'Rourke (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) and freshman Olivia Owen (Weymouth, Mass.) ran at No. 6 and No. 7, crossing the finish line at 21:02.94 and 22:05.51 respectively.
Other Salve Regina finishers included:
Senior Jessica Graham (Lowell, Mass.) – 22:47.35
Junior Alexa Cipkas (Granby, Conn.) – 22:49.45
Junior Hannah Lussier (Belchertown, Mass.) – 22:58.06
Freshman Rachel Sandri (Marlboro, N.Y.) – 23:03.07
Senior Nicole Schafer (Manorville, N.Y.) – 23:21.89
Sophomore Ashley Schafer (Manorville, N.Y.) – 23:22.23
Freshman Ellie Bergeron (North Attleboro, Mass.) – 23:41.84
Sophomore Molly Kittler (Pittsfield, Mass.) – 23:49.83
Freshman Taylor Maddalena (Pittsfield, Mass.) – 23:54.29
Freshman Finn Collins (Eliot, Maine) – 24:07.37
Sophomore Hailey Slotter (Seymour, Conn.) – 24:08.73
Junior Caroline Kelley (Norfolk, Mass.) – 24:43.40
Freshman Tatiana Mehos (Ridgewood, N.J.) – 24:57.87
Freshman Alexa Vargas (Woburn, Mass.) – 25:25.21
Wellesley College won the meet with a team score of 37. The Blue placed four runners in the top 10 en route to the victory. Wellesley senior Mary Kreidel won the individual title with a time of 19:05.31.
Salve Regina returns to action at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Sept. 17.
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Courtesy of Rob McGuinness
